Cardio exercise is amazing for our bodies.
Running, cycling, and swimming help us build endurance and give us a nice boost in our days.
Cardio exerciseprevents chronic diseasewhile improving our heart health.
However, like anything else, there can be too much of a good thing.
Cardiovascular exercise puts stress on our hearts.
A moderate amount helps strengthen our heart muscle, but too much cardio can actually weaken it.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a physician or healthcare provider who does not recommend some cardio exercise.
Our bodies are designed to move, and it’s important to stay active.
People who exercise regularly live an average of seven years longer than their sedentary friends!
Cardio exercise can help our muscles burn fat during the workout, but our metabolismsquickly go back to normal.
The other issue is that chronically doing too much cardio can lead to actually losing muscle.
“If your body loses even the slightest bit of muscle, your resting metabolic rate (i.e.
how many calories you burn when you’re NOT exercising) dips even further,” he explained.
“Your body will begin to shed fat even more slowly… unless you do even more cardio.”
Chances are you or someone you know have run a marathon recently.
Over the past 35 years, the number of Americans running marathons hasincreased 20-fold.
If you’re continually running marathon after marathon, it will take a serious toll on your heart.
Their hearts do not work as efficiently and even the size changes.
There are even those sad stories of marathoners collapsing at the end of their race.
Sudden cardiac death is not common for marathoners.
Just listen to your body and schedule lots of rest.
Triathletes actually havedouble the mortality rate as marathoners.
You’re always sore
Like any exercise, doing too much cardio can lead to injuries.
These may be major overuse injuries or more minor ones.
“Chronic joint soreness develops gradually so it can be easy to overlook.
Pay attention to how you feel after your run.
verify to take a rest day or hit a yoga class instead.
No matter how fit you are, it’s important to pay attention to pain.
“The more fit and the stronger you become, the more recovery you need.”
Cardio alone can’t touch that stubborn belly fat.
Studies show that it’s crucial that you incorporate strength training into your workout routine to burn fat.
As you build up and strengthen your muscles, they’ll be burning fat far beyond your workouts.
Running or cycling alone can’t offer that.
Moderate physical activity during the day can prevent or even cure insomnia.
We have to move our bodies throughout the day to stay healthy and sleep well.
However, new research has shown that too much exercise canlead to problems sleeping.
Turns out that over-exercising can increase stress hormones like cortisol.
Come bedtime, those stress hormones can keep you up tossing and turning.
You may be doing the wrong kind of workouts.
Smith explains that cardio is effective at reducing both fat and muscle mass.
Most of us want to ditch the fat, but keep our toned muscles.
“This can be a frustrating side effect of doing too much cardio exercise.”
Try a Zumba class or go for a walk with friends.
Keep changing things up to keep it fresh.
You feel tired all the time
Cardio exercise is great for giving you some much-needed energy.
Moderate exercise is a good stress on the body.
It causes our muscles and bones to strengthen.
If thebody gets too stressedthough, then excessive cardio will leave us depleted and wiped out.
You just feel off
Many of us need our workouts to feel energized and happy.
When I’m stressed, nothing clears my head like a long run in the park.
If you’ve been noticing some feelings of the blues, try switching up your workouts.
Take a break from the constant running and try a new fitness or yoga class.
“Weight lifting empowers you.”
Try yoga instead
So you’ve come to the conclusion that you’re doing too much cardio.
Let’s make a plan.
Look ahead at your week, and start substituting some new workouts and rest days.
A yoga class is a great place to start.
If you haven’t tried yoga yet, it’s time.
Not only will it improve your health, but you’ll start to feel amazing as well.
Yoga is a combination of stretching, strengthening, and finding some stillness in our crazy lives.
Yoga has been shown to bejust as effective as cardio exercisein keeping us healthy and preventing chronic diseases.
It also does not come with the downsides of overdoing it on the cardio.
Strength training is the answer
Looking for something a little more challenging than yoga?
Meet your new best friend strength training.
First, strengthening your muscles will protect you from overuse injuries that could result from too much cardio.
Strength training also helps build that muscle definition that so many of us are after.
Another benefit of strength training is the time you’ll save.
According to theMayo Clinic, you’ll start seeing results with as little as two 20-minute sessions per week!
Jogging could never give you results that quickly.
